Making a workers compensation claim
Notice of any injury (section 32) must be given to an employer as soon as practicable after the occurrence of the injury and before the worker leaves the employment of the employer.
Notice of an injury may be given orally or in writing and must contain the name and address of the injured worker, the nature of the injury, the date on which the injury occurred and the cause of the injury (section 33). Notice should be given to:-
- the employer of the worker, or if there is more than one employer, to one of the employers of the worker.
- a person under whose supervision the worker is employed.
- a person designated for the purpose by the employer.
- a person having authority or apparently having authority to receive notice on behalf of the employer.
An employer who is informed by a worker of an injury must, within 14 days, serve the worker with a prescribed notice in writing that sets out the workers rights and obligations unless the employer is served with a claim for compensation in that period (section 33A).
A claim for compensation must be made within 6 months after the date of the occurrence of the injury or where the injury results in the death of a worker, within 6 months after the date of the death.
A claim for compensation must be in a form approved by the Board and must be accompanied by a certificate in a form approved by the Board and signed by an accredited medical practitioner or accredited person (section 34).
A claim for compensation may be given to the employer or to the person designated for the purpose by the employer.
An employer must, within 3 working days, of receiving a claim for compensation notify the employer's insurer of the claim (section 36).
An employer has 84 days in which to dispute a claim for compensation (section 81A).
An employer who receives a claim for compensation form a worker must within 28 days:-
- Notify the worker in writing as to whether a decision has been made to accept, or not to accept liability for the injury to which the claim relates; and
- if no decision has been made to accept or not accept liability the employer or employer's insurer must specify in the notice the reasons why the decision has not been made and advise the steps that they intend to take before making a decision.
Contact WorkCover Tasmania if you have any questions about making a claim for workers compensation or your entitlements.